The Summit Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 742341399
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Breckenridge, CO, USA
- Phone
- 9704535970
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Public Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,046,610
- Expenses
- $6,686,718
- Assets
- $28,443,818
- Liabilities
- $282,748
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
38 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JEANNE BISTRANIN (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- ELLEN REID (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- BARB RANKIN (PRESIDENT)
- DAVID PREAUS (VICE PRESIDENT)
- ANDY AERENSON (FORMER PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JEANNE BISTRANIN (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $217,341 total reported compensation
- CHAD COVELL (FORMER DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $139,286 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
For over 40 years, the summit foundation has been the trusted partner in supporting the entire summit county community and providing strong leadership to address the most pressing community needs. We are recognized as the leading philanthropic organization for summit county and our neighboring communities. We are committed to creating even better mountain communities by providing leadership, and working across all boundaries.
What it reported doing in 2024
We provide grants and support services for qualified tax-exempt organizations and scholarships to help hard-working students achieve their dreams of college or other post-secondary education. As the local community foundation, we also provide leadership and seed funding for special initiatives to address critical community issues.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 92% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 79
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 66.3%; rating input score 66
- Program expense ratio: 80.6%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $17.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 88.2%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 95.5%; rating input score 95; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 26.1%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.25; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 66.3% of revenue deployed · 80.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 34 of 34 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $217K · 38 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 34 of 36 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 109 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 107 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.